The siege of Warsaw of 1794 was a joint

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

siege of the capital of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

, during the Kościuszko Uprising in the summer of 1794. It ended with the Polish victory when, after a two-month siege, the Prussian and Russian army ended the siege and withdrew from

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Background

Warsaw, the capital of the

, was one of the key strategic areas for all sides in the Kościuszko Uprising. Secured by the Poles during the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

in April, it was threatened by the forces of the Imperial Russia and

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

. The leader of the Uprising,

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish military engineer, statesman, and military leader who ...

, gathered forces to defend Warsaw, and around 7 to 11 July fought a delaying battle at Raszyn.

Opposing forces

Kościuszko was able to gain some time to finish preparation for the upcoming siege, dividing his forces into the field army (23,000), garrison (3,000) and city militia (18,000). Another estimate gave him 35,000 men and 200 guns. The field army had a line of field fortifications and trenches prepared outside the main city walls and fortifications. The besieging forces were commanded by King

Frederick William II of Prussia Frederick William II (german: Friedrich Wilhelm II.; 25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797) was King of Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. He was in personal union the Prince-elector of Brandenburg and (via the Orange-Nassau inherita ...

, whose army numbered about 25,000 and 179 guns, with a Russian army of about 65,000 and 74 guns under

Johann Hermann von Fersen Johann Hermann von Fersen (around 1740 - 9 June 1801) was a Saxon-born infantry general who served from 1770 in the Imperial Russian Army. Life He was involved in the battles at Larga and Kagul in the military operations against Yemelyan Pugac ...

. Another estimate gives the Prussian size at 30,000 and the Russian, at 13,000.

Siege

The attackers decided to delay their assault, waiting for heavy artillery. They launched their first attack on July 27 in the direction of

Wola Wola (, ) is a district in western Warsaw, Poland, formerly the village of Wielka Wola, incorporated into Warsaw in 1916. An industrial area with traditions reaching back to the early 19th century, it underwent a transformation into an office (co ...

, but were pushed back by a division under Prince

Józef Poniatowski Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski (; 7 May 1763 – 19 October 1813) was a Polish general, minister of war and army chief, who became a Marshal of the French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. A nephew of king Stanislaus Augustus of Poland (), ...

. To relieve the pressure of the siege, Kościuszko ordered the Uprising in Greater Poland, which succeeded in disrupting the Prussian forces. Kościuszko became more radical in his political influence, endorsing the

Polish Jacobins Polish Jacobins (or Huguenots) was the name given to a group of late 18th century radical Polish politicians by their opponents. Polish Jacobins formed during the Great Sejm as an offshoot of the "Kołłątaj's Forge" (''Kuźnia Kołłątajska'') ...

to gather more popular support. The second assault by the besieging Prussian and Russian armies on 26 to 28 August was also defeated, and with the spreading of unrest in Greater Poland, Frederick William II ordered his forces to end the siege and withdraw. The Prussians would retreat to the

Bzura The Bzura is a river in central Poland, a tributary of the Vistula river (in Wyszogród), with a length of 173 kilometres and a basin area of 7,764 km2.Pilica river region. The Polish victory at Warsaw is seen as one of the major accomplishments of Kościuszko, and one of the two greatest Polish victories in the Uprising, second to the success of the Greater Poland Uprising itself, which was inspired by the siege.

Aftermath

Despite this victory, the Uprising would soon end with Kościuszko's defeat at the

battle of Maciejowice The Battle of Maciejowice was fought on 10 October 1794, between Poland and the Russian Empire. The Poles were led by Tadeusz Kościuszko. Kościuszko with 6,200 men, who planned to prevent the linking of three larger Russian corps, commanded b ...

in October followed by the bloody taking of Warsaw in November.

References

{{coord missing, Masovian Voivodeship 1794 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1794 in Prussia 1794 in the Russian Empire

Military history of Warsaw Warsaw 1794 18th century in Warsaw Warsaw 1794 Warsaw 1794 Conflicts in 1794